Chapter 83: My proposal—who agrees and who approves?

Entering the boss temple, the surrounding environment was bizarre and colorful—not just an enclosed space, but walls glowing in various hues.

What appeared before Asuna was an enormous creature, carrying a shield and wielding a massive axe—the red-skinned Kobold Lord, Ilfang.

"..."

Unlike the usual lizardmen, this monster's mere appearance immediately put immense pressure on Asuna. It wasn't something ordinary mobs could compare to.

It was powerful.

But this time, she didn't back down. Hiding in the town would bring no growth. Only through constant combat, through learning and polishing her skills could she gain the strength to fight monsters.

"This... this is the boss?"

As a spear-user, Sachi instinctively feared the prospect of battling such a massive creature. Her relaxed nature gave way to anxiety, and a trace of fear flashed in her eyes.

Almost subconsciously, she looked behind her—at Shirakawa, whom both Shinobu and Asuna treated with special regard. He must be incredibly strong, right?

Shinobu, on the other hand, remained calm.

With her status as a Chosen of Pleasure, her overall stats had significantly improved, giving her confidence.

Combined with her Insect Breathing techniques, even when facing the boss of the temple—

She still thought to herself that she mustn't embarrass Shirakawa. With a gentle smile, she asked, "Shirakawa-kun, would you like me to assist them in battle?"

"You may."

According to the original timeline, Asuna—trapped in the SAO game—hadn't even left the inn, let alone trained with her friend Mito.

Given Asuna's current strength—

Shirakawa didn't hold very high expectations. What he valued was her potential as a future "Flash." In the original story, that development wouldn't happen until half a year later.

To be exact, Asuna was still a newbie.

He had no intention of interfering too much. In a relaxed tone, he said, "Just focus on attacking. I'll provide some light support."

"Okay!"

With sufficient safety assured, even Sachi gripped her spear tightly, ready to join the raid. Just as the other raid group members arrived—

The floor boss Ilfang, having had its aggro fully drawn, summoned a large number of red-skinned kobold soldiers.

The team's rhythm was momentarily thrown off.

Shirakawa glanced toward Diabel, the leader of the raid team, and decisively said, "You all handle the mobs. We have our own plan for the boss."

"A lot of SAO players are still new to the game. Are you sure this won't put them in danger?"

Diabel's face darkened at Shirakawa's command, but he still began organizing the players to handle the kobold soldiers.

He really wanted to ask—

Why was the only male in the team allowed to stand so confidently at the back while the girls fought up front?

But—

Seeing the calm, indifferent look in Shirakawa's eyes—

Diabel ultimately swallowed his words.

Turning to the reluctant raid team members, he issued commands: "Focus on clearing the kobold mobs first—we'll worry about the boss after that!"

"Let's aim to clear the floor today!"

"..."

The temple doors had already closed. The only way out now was to defeat the floor boss. Even though some players weren't satisfied with Shirakawa's orders, with their lives on the line, none dared to slack off.

Diabel thought his efforts to share the pressure might earn him some appreciation from Shirakawa, but when he turned around—

He found Shirakawa completely focused on Asuna's battle with the boss.

The Kobold Lord, wielding a giant axe, didn't have fast attack speed, but every swing tore through the air with terrifying force.

Asuna had only just learned basic combat techniques.

She knew she couldn't face it head-on and instead used her agility to dodge backward. When the axe slammed into the ground, it cracked the floor beneath it.

Seizing the boss's post-attack delay, Shinobu—with her enhanced stats and breathing techniques that boosted her combat power launched

[Butterfly Dance: Caprice].

Her figure was light and graceful like a butterfly. She dashed forward, her Nichirin blade stabbing repeatedly into the Kobold Lord Ilfang's body.

The rapid flashes of her blade were nearly impossible to track.

Let alone block.

Sachi took her cue and swept her spear at the boss's arm. Though she hadn't undergone much training, they were already showing basic teamwork.

The HP dropped.

The Kobold Lord roared in fury, sweeping his axe horizontally at the group—but the palace floor beneath him had turned into flowing sand.

Losing his footing, his attack veered off course—

Slashing only empty air!

Asuna, who had just barely avoided the attack, realized the ground had changed due to Shirakawa's interference.

He hadn't forcefully taken over the fight.

Instead, he was creating opportunities for her to learn and grow. Asuna took advantage of the opening and activated her unique skill [Linear], thrusting her blade forward in rapid succession.

It wasn't nearly as difficult as she'd feared.

With Shinobu leading the charge and the team gradually syncing up, they fell into a solid battle rhythm. Once the small mobs were cleared—

The main raid group finally had the breathing room to face the boss.

Seeing the Kobold Lord steadily losing ground, hope swelled among the players. Diabel, the raid leader, looked to his fired-up team and shouted:

"This is our best chance yet! Prepare for the final assault on the floor boss!"

"Yeah!!"

"We're finally going to clear the first level! The boss only has a little over 30% HP left. If we all strike together, we can take it down!"

But—

Shirakawa's calm voice doused their rising excitement. Did they really think he didn't see through Diabel's little plan?

Obviously, Diabel wanted to take advantage of the chaos and sneak in the final blow to claim the boss kill.

But Shirakawa had deliberately chosen this low-floor, high-difficulty boss to help Asuna and Sachi improve through live combat. There was no way he'd let other players butt in.

"If any of you interfere in this battle, your outcome will be the same as that Kobold."

"What… do you mean by that?"

Diabel's expression darkened. With all the minions gone and only a low-HP boss remaining, the message was clear:

If they stepped in—

They'd be treated as enemies of Shirakawa's group.

"It's simple. If you want to escape from SAO, focus on clearing the mobs. Leave the boss to our raid team."

Shirakawa shook his head lightly.

He didn't bother wasting more time on them. He turned his attention to the boss, who was about to enter its enraged state, and slowly drew the blade at his waist.

Asuna still hadn't realized the danger.

The boss's HP was nearly empty, and it looked like they were just moments away from victory. She felt a rush of joy and got ready for another attack—only to notice the Kobold Lord had put away its axe.

It pulled out a massive cleaver-like execution sword, raising it for a brutal strike. Asuna's mind froze—her skill had already activated.

She couldn't dodge in time.

"Is… is this where it ends?"

That terrifying thought crept into her heart. No one expected the boss to have a second phase.

It was too fast—

Impossible to react to. Death seemed inevitable. But then—

"..."

Relying on his high proficiency stats—

Shirakawa activated a spell without needing a chant. He didn't use any charged-up attacks—just pointed at the Kobold Lord.

Golden lightning crackled from his fingertip.

As an Arch-wizard, he didn't even need to charge it up. The lightning bolt shot out at a speed beyond human reaction—

And instantly struck the Kobold Lord Ilfang.

With his immense mana output, even a basic spell erupted with terrifying damage, blasting the boss's head apart and killing it in one blow.

[You have slain Kobold Lord Ilfang. Gained EXP +2000.]

The battle ended in a flash.

Every single player stared at Shirakawa. If they weren't mistaken—

The final blow wasn't a sword skill.

It was... magic, like in a traditional MMO!

"What... what just happened!?"

"Wasn't SAO supposed to be a game only about sword techniques? There's no magic in this world! Was that a bug? Or a hidden feature!?"

"Was he in the closed beta?"

"Hell, I was a beta tester—and I never saw anyone use magic! Everyone just used regular sword skills!"

Even Diabel, the raid leader, stared in disbelief at Shirakawa, who remained calm and expressionless.

But his heart was full of wariness now.

He had planned to confront Shirakawa afterward. Did this guy really think his tiny group could take on everyone trying to escape the game?

But...

Those words never left his mouth.

He hadn't expected it—not only was Shinobu insanely strong, but even Shirakawa, who had seemed lazy and hands-off—turned out to have this level of power!

"As part of the raid team, our job is to clear the mobs. The floor bosses? We leave those to our raid squad. My proposal is simple—"

"Who agrees? Who supports?"

Of course, they still needed some players to serve as "Palu" (a term from other games referring to support or utility players).

Shirakawa's eyes scanned coldly across Diabel and the others. His tone left no room for argument. Diabel stood frozen, unable to respond.

Shirakawa didn't care.

Fresh from her brush with death, Asuna approached him, eyes full of gratitude. She was about to say something heartfelt—

But Shirakawa casually waved her off.

In a light tone, he said, "Captain, you still need to keep recruiting for the raid squad."

"..."

Blushing, Asuna wasn't used to speaking so publicly. But she still straightened up and shyly declared:

"Our team is still looking for more players…"

"Only those with the identity of a beautiful girl can apply. Please come see me if you're interested—we'll get you safely out of SAO!"